


Post-Infinity War; selection of headcanons

by the_girl_in_the_flower_dress



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Infinity War, Post-Infinity War, Sorry for the pain guys, Spoilers!!, headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-10-27
Packaged: 2019-05-04 01:53:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_girl_in_the_flower_dress/pseuds/the_girl_in_the_flower_dress
Summary: Set right after Infinity War; follows the survivors, as they react to what has just happened and try to figure out what to do next. They somehow have to pull themselves together, even though their entire world has just fallen apart...





	1. Tony and Nebula; post Infinity War

**Author's Note:**

> This obviously includes huge spoilers for Avengers: Infinity War, and focuses on main character deaths, so don't read it if you haven't watched the movie yet.
> 
> Note: the language does get quite intense, but I figured that it would be more realistic, given the circumstances.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter focuses on Tony and Nebula, stuck on Titan after Thanos' snap. Tony has just lost everything and he struggling to cope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm currently working on another chapter about the survivors of Wakanda, so keep checking, and it should be up soon!
> 
> Just wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, left kudos, commented, and/or bookmarked. I still can't believe how well it did, and I'm glad to have written something that you all enjoyed so much. x

“Get up.” Nebula said roughly. “We have work to do.”

Tony didn’t answer, staring numbly down at his hands, caked in dirt and flakes of ash. Peter’s ashes. Tears streamed uninterrupted down his face, tracking lines in the grime on his skin.

“ _Stark.”_ She repeated, tapping him hard on the shoulder with a metallic hand. His head jerked upwards, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights. The whites of his eyes bulged, bloodshot, as his body shook with silent sobs.

“I – I – he – Peter, he-” He choked on a sob, finally letting his emotions loose. He brought his hands to his face and screamed- a broken, guttural scream.

“ _Fuck you_!” Tony yelled into the empty, burnt-orange sky, grabbing random pieces of rock and debris and hurling them all around him. “ _Fuck you!”_

He rocked lightly back and forth. It was too much. It was all too much for him to handle. Who else had gone? Half of the people he knew for sure. Pepper? Steve? Nat? It was his fault. He should never have involved a child.

Something in Nebula’s expression changed. Rage, grief and pain were things she could relate to all too well. She knelt down at his side, balancing on the balls of her feet.

 

“Hey.” There was a rare hint of softness in her voice. “I’m sorry about your friends, this sucks, ok?”

He looked at her.

“Thanos has gone too far, but we can’t let him win. We have to find a way to stop him, or at least _find_ him, if only to beat the crap out of him. Thanos will _pay_ for what he’s done.” Her voice wavered. “The universe has fallen apart, and he is the only one with the power to do anything about it.”

Tony blinked at her, surprised by her sudden, out-of-character monologue. Her face hardened again.

“Now get up.”

Tony took several deep breaths. As much as he wanted to curl up on the floor and cry, or scream obscenities at the sky, he knew that Nebula was right. It took every ounce of effort to block Peter’s pleading, terrified voice out of his head, the expression on his youthful face, the way he’d gripped Tony’s body, desperate not to go-

 

Nebula held out a hand and gripped his arm, forcing him to his feet.

“We’re going to Earth; we need to figure out who’s left. We can’t do this alone.”

Tony nodded shakily.

“Alright… You’re right… Let’s go.” He suddenly felt the strong urge to get away from this cursed place, and Nebula had the right idea. Although the journey back to Earth would be emotionally draining beyond words; wondering and hoping and despairing about who would be there to greet them, they _had_ to keep going. There was literally no other choice.

They reached the ship, suddenly realising that it was damaged beyond repair.

 

“ _Shit.”_ Nebula muttered, her eyes darting back and forth as she searched the broken exterior of the ship for other options. Tony stood alone as she jogged around its perimeter, hearing her shout of triumph several minutes later, and waiting numbly for whatever she’d found. He couldn’t bring himself to feel anything. If he did, his emotions would drown him.

“There’s a small escape pod that we could navigate with. It’ll be a bumpy ride, but I’m a good pilot, so we’ll manage.” She shrugged. “Can you stomach it?”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Bring it on.” He replied sarcastically.

He waited on the ground as Nebula began to figure out the little ship’s mechanisms and functions, inputting their destination. He looked out over the barren, desert-like-land of the planet’s surface. A light breeze wafted through the air, ruffling his dirty, damp hair.

Everything was tinged with dusky orange and earthy brown, and if it wasn’t for the destruction and pain that had taken place there, it could almost have been described as uniquely beautiful, the way the plains of Africa might look after weeks without rain.

Tony realised how completely alone he felt without the optimistic, chirping voice of Peter filling the silence with little remarks and quirks. Peter was someone who he valued greatly in his life- not that he would have admitted it before, and he cared as much about him as he would a son. A lump rose in his throat, and he swallowed it back, hastily brushing away a lone tear that slipped down his cheek.

What would he say to Aunt May, if she was even still alive? It physically pained him to think about it, and he pushed the notion aside. He would get back to that later. His top priority was getting back to Earth, back _home._

He knew that Peter would want him to keep going, to stop Thanos, or at least try. He spoke to him silently in his head. _We’ll work this out, kid, don’t you worry about it._

 

He and Nebula clambered into the pod, both of them quiet, deep in their own thoughts. He watched the planet get further away as they rose into the sky, feeling strangely guilty at leaving his friends behind, their ashes undoubtedly drifting away on a breeze. A funeral like no other.

He stayed at the window, his eyes fixated on the planet they had just left until it completely disappeared from view, before taking a seat next to Nebula, and closing his eyes. He knew that he probably wouldn’t get another opportunity to see the wonders of space from such a breath-taking angle, but all it had brought him was pain and loss and anxiety, so really, he didn’t mind.

Somehow, he drifted off into a light, fitful daze, waking up every few minutes, too on edge to sleep properly. He didn’t know how long it would take to arrive on Earth, but didn’t ask. What would come, would come, and nothing he could do could change that, so he’d just have to face it head on as it came his way, like always.


	2. The survivors of Wakanda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors of Wakanda are reeling in shock and grief and utter exhaustion. Tensions- understandably- run high, the will to carry on fades, and a feeling of despair grows. But they are bonded through experience, and through their leader, Steve Rogers. Somehow, they will pull themselves together and begin to think of how to continue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has taken a lot longer to upload than originally planned, but here you go; part 2 of my post-Infinity War headcanons. I really hope you enjoy this one as much as the first, thanks again for all your appreciation.

Everything seemed too quiet, unnaturally so. The survivors seemed frozen in shock, unable to believe what had happened, what Thanos had done, that they had _failed._ Steve felt cold at the thought of the panic and terror that would be sweeping across the entire universe right now, families and friends disappearing with no explanation at all, planes dropping out of the sky, hospitals left unattended, horrendous car crashes on every road- and that was only the situation on Earth. Thanos hadn’t just wiped out half the universe, he’d caused a snowball effect that would kill millions more.

Steve’s eyes, usually bright and alert, were heavy and dull, his mouth set in a tight line. Nat stepped forwards and slipped a hand through his, her eyes sparkling with tears, her lips trembling with the effort to stop them from falling. Okoye’s body racked with silent sobs, her hand over her mouth, doubled over like she was in pain, grieving the death of her king. Rocket was nowhere to be seen, having wandered off to be alone. Losing Groot was like losing a son, and he had no idea whether the rest of the Guardians had made it.

The rest- Thor, Bruce and Rhodey- just stood in silence, utterly gobsmacked at their failure, at what it meant. Thor was already blaming himself, his face hard and closed-off; he had been so close. Vision’s body lay grey and stiff on the ground, a sick trophy of the cost of their failure. Death was everywhere, but it was invisible.

Nobody spoke, what could they say? It was over. Thanos had won.

Steve’s legs felt weak, he sank down onto a log, letting go of Nat’s hand. He didn’t take his eyes off Bucky’s remains, his ashes laying in a pile on the ground. He suddenly noticed the ash floating all around them, like a volcano had exploded somewhere many miles away, and tasted the bitter taste of bile in his mouth.

Nat caught Bruce’s eye, a few metres away, but couldn’t bring herself to go over to him. Now was not the time, despite his broken expression. She stood alone for a few moments, but then joined Steve on the log. She leant into him, her head fitting easily into the space between his neck and shoulder. She placed a hand on his thigh, squeezing it gently, and after a moment, he gripped it back. Again, neither of them spoke.

They all just stood there, as if waiting for someone to take charge and tell them what would happen next. But no one did. The extreme shock and grief was like a weight, pulling them down and slowing their impulses. Every single one of them had lost at least one person who meant something to them, and that, combined with the enormity of Thanos’ snap overall, was just too much to process.

 

Meanwhile, Shuri was coming around after her brief fight with Thanos’ minions. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry, and groaned as she became aware of the intense pounding in her head. With a huge amount of effort, she raised her head and looked around her. The body of one of the soldiers she’d killed lay on the ground a few metres to her right, but otherwise, they hadn’t pursued her any further. Slowly, she got to her feet, using her arms to keep her balance. She’d hit her head a lot harder than she’d realised.

Shuri had to know what was going on. She had no idea how long she’d been unconscious for, but something didn’t feel right. She stumbled up to the lab and peered outside. The ground was littered with bodies, but not as many as she thought there had been earlier. Had they already begun to clear up after the battle? Did that mean they had won? More time must have passed than she thought.

She noticed a strange blanket of ash coating the ground and being taken away by the light breeze. Where did it come from? She felt a strange sense of unease squeeze her stomach. She didn’t like this. Not at all. She had to find her brother.

Shuri searched the building, checking every room and finding it empty, or else occupied by a fallen Wakandan or enemy. But T’Challa, and the Avengers, were nowhere to be seen. Her head spinning, she went outside. She was utterly confused, and almost equally afraid. If the battle had been won, surely someone would have come to look for her, and there would be more people around. If they had lost, Wakanda should be swarming with Thanos’ army.

Or not… Thanos’ objective was to decrease the population of the universe by a half. Icy terror flooded Shuri’s body. Had he succeeded? Had everyone simply disappeared? Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she began to run, sprinting to the last location where she knew her brother had been. She passed several enemy soldiers on the battlefield- still alive- just wandering around aimlessly, their hostility having disappeared along with the population. It was bizarre. She payed them no second-glances, her eyes set on the line of trees opposite her.

She crashed through the undergrowth, almost knocking Okoye over as she reached them.

“What’s going on?” Shuri said breathlessly. Her eyes flitted back and forth like a small, skittery animal. “Where is everyone? Where’s my brother?!” Her voice shook with fear and she suddenly looked very, very young.

The rest of the group gathered around her, sympathy and pain in their eyes. She looked from one to the other, searching for answers.

“Somebody tell me what’s happened!” She shouted, almost hysterically. Bruce massaged his forehead with his hand.

“Kid-”

“Do not ‘ _kid_ ’ me, Mr Banner, I demand to know what is going on.” Her fierce eyes bore into his, the atmosphere thickening with each passing second.

“Look, now is not the time to argue.” Steve interjected. “Shuri,” he said, his voice flat. “Thanos won. He completed the snap. Everyone who is missing just disappeared into ash.” His voice faltered.

“T’Challa?” Shuri whispered. Steve briefly closed his eyes, then shook his head.

“He’s gone, Shuri, I’m so sorry.”

Her legs buckled, and she would have collapsed, had Okoye not caught her under the arms and held her upright.

“I was with him, my princess, he did not suffer.”

Tears streamed down Shuri’s face.

“He can’t have- he can’t be-” Her words broke off into a sob. She took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing strength into her legs and pushing away from Okoye. “So all of your companions, Wanda and Sam and Vis- oh…” Her eyes fell upon Vision’s body, sapped of life by the absence of the mind stone. 

“Other than Vision, everyone is gone.”

“So, what do we- what do we do?” She looked towards Steve, her eyes pleading. She had never felt so helpless in her life.

“I don’t know.” He said, his exterior caving in, utterly defeated.

 

“It’s my fault.” Thor said. His anger suddenly spiked and he launched his axe, spinning, into the bough of a tree, where it splintered the wood with a thud. Several people flinched. “This is _my fault_! I had the chance to stop him and I failed.” His face was contorted with fury, his eyebrows knotted together, eyes hard.

“No. Don’t say that, man. We all could have done something more, but he was just too powerful. If we fight amongst ourselves we’ll have no chance at all.” Rhodey said quietly.

“What do you mean, ‘no chance  _at all’_?” Banner asked. “There is literally nothing we can do. Nothing. Thanos completed the snap, he won, it’s _over_.”

“Bruce is right.” Natasha said. Okoye interrupted her.

“How do we know? There _must_ be some way to reverse it.”

“Stop clinging to hope when there is none.” Thor said abruptly.

“There is always hope.” Okoye replied. “That’s what T’Challa would say.”

“Well T’Challa’s not _here_ now, is he? The entire universe is in ruins, everyone is _gone_. I can’t deal with this anymore, I just can’t.” Banner put his head in his hands, pain and stress pulsing through his temples. Green veins throbbed in his forehead, then subsided, rising and falling but never transforming into the full Hulk.

“Enough!” Steve roared. The tension had been rising for the last few minutes, his friends battling each other, not able to cope with the situation. Everyone fell silent and turned to look at him, their voices dying out immediately. They visibly relaxed, several of them shaking out balled fists or stepping back. “Rhodey has a point; if we fight- and even if there’s nothing we can do at all- everything will fall apart even more. We’ve lost enough people today.”

His teammates looked at him, slightly ashamed at their behaviour, but not enough to apologise. They were too exhausted, and too overwhelmed by emotions to do anything more than listen.

 

“I’m just as lost as you are; I have no idea what to do, no idea who else is alive, what Thanos will do next, or if there’s any way to reverse it. I’m tired, and scared, and I’ve had enough of this life. None of us chose this, but we’re here now, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Nat felt a stirring of warmth in her chest at her best friend’s words. She still felt at the lowest and darkest and numbest point she had ever felt at in her life- and that was saying something- but there was something about Steve that lifted you, no matter what the situation was.

“We deserve time to mourn, and cry and feel lost. Right now, I wish I wasn’t an Avenger. I wish I’d never signed up to Project Rebirth, and lived a normal life, and died in peace. But we’re the Avengers for a reason. We have powers and strength and experience that no one else in this universe has. And for God’s sake, we have each other.” Steve said, looking at them all in turn. “Who does Thanos have? He’s alone in all of this, which puts him at a disadvantage, despite _everything_ that he’s done and the position the universe is in right now. I have no idea what we do next, but I’m damn happy that I’ve got you to figure it out with.”

“Me too.” Natasha said softly.

“And me.” Rhodey and Shuri said at the same time.

“Yeah.” They all started at Rocket’s voice, appearing from behind a cluster of bushes. His eyes were full of pain, his shoulders bowed under the weight of loss, but he raised his head to look at them all even so.

“Let us leave this place, I can’t bear it any longer.” Okoye said. “We should go inside.” They nodded, but the hesitation to leave their friends’ remains behind was clear.

“There’s nothing we can do.” Rocket said flatly. “Let’s go.”

They took one last look at the ground, littered with invisible corpses, the remains of Bucky, Wanda, Groot, Sam and T’Challa horrifyingly indistinguishable. Only Vision’s body could be identified, and none of them could face moving him.

 

Their combined despair was thick and heavy, their bodies bruised and weary, all hope and strength sapped from them. Tears flowed unashamedly- or else didn’t; reeling in shock, numb. But somehow, Steve was right. They weren’t alone in their suffering. For them, the burden was greater, the guilt sharper, but they all felt it. Every one of them felt the same grief and pain, and soon, the same thirst for vengeance, justice for their friends and the whole universe. Whether they’d get it or die trying, it didn’t matter. It was the only thing keeping them going, and the only thing to push them through the next days and weeks and months, until they finally reached the end.


End file.
